Kodak EasyShare Z1085 IS Review Discussion

[David Rasnake]

While its specs don't exactly jump off the page, the new Kodak EasyShare Z1085 IS looks and feels like a step forward in Kodak's apparent efforts to become a serious player again among serious amateur photographers. With a 10 megapixel sensor, 5x zoom, and optical image stabilization, the Z1085 sports the basic physical tech that serious shooters are seeking. Wrap all of this in an all-business body, drive it with a new, very polished interface, and price it competitively and you've got a product that has the potential, at least, to go toe-to-toe with the heavyweight contenders in the enthusiast compact arena.

Read the full content of this Article: Kodak EasyShare Z1085 IS Review

[Jerry Jackson]

Maybe it's my fond memories of Kodak film, but I wish I could find a Kodak digital camera that I really like. So many of their digital cameras come "close" in many ways to being the type of pocket camera I'd like ... but then Kodak sticks a bad lens on the camera or horrible AF and that kills my interest.

[kickace]

here is 3 samples from HD recording from my Z1085

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=00VZWA90 - sample daylight 119mb

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XM6SO5Q7 - sample indoor light 106mb

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EBVMN3T8 - sample low light 104mb



the low light gets a bit noisy, but i still think that you won't get much better in terms of hd video for a point and shoot - and the sanyo hd700 and tx1 have smaller sensors, so they def wont be better, even the v1253 was better than both the hd700 and tx1, and this is even better



it doesn't seem as near as bad of overexposure as the v1253 and v1233 and z812is had, unless im not seeing it please correct me if wrong!

[kickace]

just recorded some of my dogs playing and then converted down to DVD format and then showed on my 50" plasma with an upconverting hdmi dvd player - all i can say is WOW

the dvd quality looks ALOT better on the 50" plasma over when i play it back on my computer in dvd quality. The tv makes it look the same as the high def version on the computer or better, it looks awesome

I know for sure that this is the winner for me as i have tried basically every other hd video point and shoot except the samsung nv24hd which came out april 15th but only has 3x zoom and much smaller sensor, while being $100 more.

[Yuuji]

Dear Kickace,

Thank you for the uploaded movies!!
I've downloaded all three, and they are helping me greatly in deciding which camera to purchase.

I was curious about the Kodak series capabilities, especially across zoom (some noise, but not too much) and in different light conditions. (Cute puppies, btw, and that is the best tasting Gatorade out there, IMHO)

There are three questions though about the camera (z1085):

1) Does it record in stereo, or mono? (I couldn't tell since sound was not a priority in your videos)

2) Does the optical stabilization function while taking movies? (A big difference between the Kodak z1285 and z1085)

3) How well does the optical stabilization work while taking normal pictures? (I've also heard its very, very noisy - is this true?)

Thank you for your time.

[Bogart]

Reading the camera specifications. I noticed that the sensor size is larger than those of other similar cameras. (1/6 vs. 1.2.5)

Does it mean that it delivers better overall images?

[Jerry Jackson]

Reading the camera specifications. I noticed that the sensor size is larger than those of other similar cameras. (1/6 vs. 1.2.5)

Does it mean that it delivers better overall images?

There is no single magic bullet to image quality. Just because a camera has a physically larger sensor doesn't mean it produces better images. The lens, in-camera image processing, post-processing and the skill of the photographer have a huge impact as well.